Olbermann: Challengers are go

[zimv20]

link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240&&CM=EmailThis&CE=1)


Nothing is in writing and daybreak is a long way away, but it appeared all but certain in early evening Wednesday that House Democrats had secured the support of up to half a dozen Senators to formally challenge the Electoral College slate from Ohio, when the votes are opened before a joint session of Congress tomorrow.

Congressional sources tell this reporter that the house half of the written objection — which has the declared support of more than a dozen Representatives — is expected to be signed by Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio. Republican leadership expects the Senate signatory to be Barbara Boxer of California, but this has not yet been formalized. The Majority is also worried about the possible absence of many of its members in both houses, and the prospect that a quorum might not be achieved, leading the process into uncharted, albeit not very threatening, constitutional grounds. There is a mathematical, if not practical, chance that the ratification of the Electoral College vote could be delayed past tomorrow.

As it is, a written challenge would require the joint session to suspend for several hours, during which the Senate and the House would meet separately and debate the merits of the objection.

The ad hoc group formed by Representative John Conyers of Michigan has also today published its staff report, concluding that before, during, and after the election in Ohio, many state laws may have been broken, in every area ranging from the allocation of voting machines, election day "anomalies," and the recount. It recommended a formal Congressional inquiry, and additional legislation to reform voting laws.

[blackfox]

Hey, we're no Ukraine.

Interesting to see how this plays/fizzles out.

Still, it is a New Year and I have a fresh batch of hope.

[mactastic]

Unless and until someone has some real proof that there is something that can change the results of the election, the elected Democrats really should get on with things. This kind of showboating is great for your base but terrible for independants and moderates whom they desperately need.

I'd like to see local activism keep the spotlight on any voting problems (which there are plenty of to focus on) and the national leadership above it. Certainly every vote needs to be counted, but you look silly telling the GOP to drop their legal challenges in the WA gubernatorial race while simultaneously mounting a challenge to the presidential race in Ohio.

[blackfox]

Agreed, mac.

Still, I would like to see some efforts put into this to see what turns up. If anything, this will be useful for future elections. We'll see.

[mactastic]

Certainly any instances of voter fraud should be investigated, and I sure don't mind seeing national level polititians on the forefront of that kind of initiative. I'd like to see some people punished for some of the things that happened in Nevada particularly. I'd also like to see some reforms such as any precinct that had more than a 1 hour wait at any point be required to have more ballot machines by the next election.

I just don't want to see any effort made to try and question the Ohio results in Congress without real hard proof. It's counterproductive.

[solvs]

Well, it did work for Ukraine and here in WA. You never know. People dislike the Dems because they seem weak. Kerry, in particular, kept trying to take the high road instead of fighting back. You'd think he would have learned his lesson, considering it's probably what cost him the election. Unfortunetly, especially in times like these, people don't want smart... they want strong. Even if it's just the appearance of strength.

Of course, this could blow up in their faces. But really, what more can they lose. I'm not getting my hopes up, but it probably couldn't hurt to at least try. You never know.

[pseudobrit]

If we don't fix the problems now, when?

If we don't investigate the problems now, how will we know how to fix them?

How many more elections must we "let it go" and "get over it?"
I think one fraud- and problem-riddled election should have been enough. We let the last one go and now we have a second.

[Juventuz]

There was a hand recount in Ohio and it produced the same result, a margin way too large for Kerry to overcome. The Dems need to get over it.

If there's a state where things seemed fishy it was Pennsylvania, the margin of victory for Kerry was MUCH slimmer there and there were reports of some irregular activities going on in eastern PA.

[Rower_CPU]

Sen. Boxer to Challenge Ohio Vote (http://www.washingtondispatch.com/spectrum/archives/000755.html)

FWIW, I don't believe anyone on the democrat side of this issue is really doing this to try to overturn the election. We need to fix this system so that we can actually be the bastion of democracy we purport to be.

[solvs]

Like I said, Dems are hovering between fighting (but coming off as sore losers) or taking the high road (but appearing as weak).

I find it funny that whoever is losing will talk about how every vote should count, but whoever is winning will just tell the other side to get over it.

[zimv20]

at this point, for the 2004 election anyway, it doesn't matter. Congress has certified it.

i noted w/ interest that on ABC News, Jennings gave it only a quick mention. about 3 sentences, w/ no photos, graphics, or expert. but the story about the mother who murdered 5 children, well, that got a lot of time, footage, etc.

you'd think something as big this dispute would get some damn coverage. unless, of course, the corporate-owned news outlets are worried about their profits. grrrr....

[zimv20]

i hear a lot of "get over it" and "there's not enough votes to matter anyway." this document (http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/010605Y.shtml) is the executive summary from Representative John Conyers, Jr., the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, about the irregularities. tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of votes were affected in ohio.

and no one really seems to care. this is how democracy dies.


Preserving Democracy:
What Went Wrong in Ohio
Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff

Wednesday 05 January 2005

Executive Summary

Representative John Conyers, Jr., the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked the Democratic staff to conduct an investigation into irregularities reported in the Ohio presidential election and to prepare a Status Report concerning the same prior to the Joint Meeting of Congress scheduled for January 6, 2005, to receive and consider the votes of the electoral college for president. The following Report includes a brief chronology of the events; summarizes the relevant background law; provides detailed findings (including factual findings and legal analysis); and describes various recommendations for acting on this Report going forward.

We have found numerous, serious election irregularities in the Ohio presidential election, which resulted in a significant disenfranchisement of voters. Cumulatively, these irregularities, which affected hundreds of thousand of votes and voters in Ohio, raise grave doubts regarding whether it can be said the Ohio electors selected on December 13, 2004, were chosen in a manner that conforms to Ohio law, let alone federal requirements and constitutional standards.

This report, therefore, makes three recommendations: (1) consistent with the requirements of the United States Constitution concerning the counting of electoral votes by Congress and Federal law implementing these requirements, there are ample grounds for challenging the electors from the State of Ohio; (2) Congress should engage in further hearings into the widespread irregularities reported in Ohio; we believe the problems are serious enough to warrant the appointment of a joint select Committee of the House and Senate to investigate and report back to the Members; and (3) Congress needs to enact election reform to restore our people's trust in our democracy. These changes should include putting in place more specific federal protections for federal elections, particularly in the areas of audit capability for electronic voting machines and casting and counting of provisional ballots, as well as other needed changes to federal and state election laws.

With regards to our factual finding, in brief, we find that there were massive and unprecedented voter irregularities and anomalies in Ohio. In many cases these irregularities were caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio.

First, in the run up to election day, the following actions by Mr. Blackwell, the Republican Party and election officials disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of Ohio citizens, predominantly minority and Democratic voters:

* The misallocation of voting machines led to unprecedented long lines that disenfranchised scores, if not hundreds of thousands, of predominantly minority and Democratic voters. This was illustrated by the fact that the Washington Post reported that in Franklin County, "27 of the 30 wards with the most machines per registered voter showed majorities for Bush. At the other end of the spectrum, six of the seven wards with the fewest machines delivered large margins for Kerry." (See Powell and Slevin, supra). Among other things, the conscious failure to provide sufficient voting machinery violates the Ohio Revised Code which requires the Boards of Elections to "provide adequate facilities at each polling place for conducting the election."

* Mr. Blackwell's decision to restrict provisional ballots resulted in the disenfranchisement of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of voters, again predominantly minority and Democratic voters. Mr. Blackwell's decision departed from past Ohio law on provisional ballots, and there is no evidence that a broader construction would have led to any significant disruption at the polling places, and did not do so in other states.

* Mr. Blackwell's widely reviled decision to reject voter registration applications based on paper weight may have resulted in thousands of new voters not being registered in time for the 2004 election.

* The Ohio Republican Party's decision to engage in preelection "caging" tactics, selectively targeting 35,000 predominantly minority voters for intimidation had a negative impact on voter turnout. The Third Circuit found these activities to be illegal and in direct violation of consent decrees barring the Republican Party from targeting minority voters for poll challenges.

* The Ohio Republican Party's decision to utilize thousands of partisan challengers concentrated in minority and Democratic areas likely disenfranchised tens of thousands of legal voters, who were not only intimidated, but became discouraged by the long lines. Shockingly, these disruptions were publicly predicted and acknowledged by Republican officials: Mark Weaver, a lawyer for the Ohio Republican Party, admitted the challenges "can't help but create chaos, longer lines and frustration."

* Mr. Blackwell's decision to prevent voters who requested absentee ballots but did not receive them on a timely basis from being able to receive provisional ballots 6 likely disenfranchised thousands, if not tens of thousands, of voters, particularly seniors. A federal court found Mr. Blackwell's order to be illegal and in violation of HAVA.

Second, on election day, there were numerous unexplained anomalies and irregularities involving hundreds of thousands of votes that have yet to be accounted for:

* There were widespread instances of intimidation and misinformation in violation of the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, Equal Protection, Due Process and the Ohio right to vote. Mr. Blackwell's apparent failure to institute a single investigation into these many serious allegations represents a violation of his statutory duty under Ohio law to investigate election irregularities.

* We learned of improper purging and other registration errors by election officials that likely disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters statewide. The Greater Cleveland Voter Registration Coalition projects that in Cuyahoga County alone over 10,000 Ohio citizens lost their right to vote as a result of official registration errors.

* There were 93,000 spoiled ballots where no vote was cast for president, the vast majority of which have yet to be inspected. The problem was particularly acute in two precincts in Montgomery County which had an undervote rate of over 25% each - accounting for nearly 6,000 voters who stood in line to vote, but purportedly declined to vote for president.

* There were numerous, significant unexplained irregularities in other counties throughout the state: (i) in Mahoning county at least 25 electronic machines transferred an unknown number of Kerry votes to the Bush column; (ii) Warren County locked out public observers from vote counting citing an FBI warning about a potential terrorist threat, yet the FBI states that it issued no such warning; (iii) the voting records of Perry county show significantly more votes than voters in some precincts, significantly less ballots than voters in other precincts, and voters casting more than one ballot; (iv) in Butler county a down ballot and underfunded Democratic State Supreme Court candidate implausibly received more votes than the best funded Democratic Presidential candidate in history; (v) in Cuyahoga county, poll worker error may have led to little known thirdparty candidates receiving twenty times more votes than such candidates had ever received in otherwise reliably Democratic leaning areas; (vi) in Miami county, voter turnout was an improbable and highly suspect 98.55 percent, and after 100 percent of the precincts were reported, an additional 19,000 extra votes were recorded for President Bush.

(cont.)

[zimv20]

(cont.)

Third, in the post-election period we learned of numerous irregularities in tallying provisional ballots and conducting and completing the recount that disenfanchised thousands of voters and call the entire recount procedure into question (as of this date the recount is still not complete):

* Mr. Blackwell's failure to articulate clear and consistent standards for the counting of provisional ballots resulted in the loss of thousands of predominantly minority votes. In Cuyahoga County alone, the lack of guidance and the ultimate narrow and arbitrary review standards significantly contributed to the fact that 8,099 out of 24,472 provisional ballots were ruled invalid, the highest proportion in the state.

* Mr. Blackwell's failure to issue specific standards for the recount contributed to a lack of uniformity in violation of both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clauses. We found innumerable irregularities in the recount in violation of Ohio law, including (i) counties which did not randomly select the precinct samples; (ii) counties which did not conduct a full hand court after the 3% hand and machine counts did not match; (iii) counties which allowed for irregular marking of ballots and failed to secure and store ballots and machinery; and (iv) counties which prevented witnesses for candidates from observing the various aspects of the recount.

* The voting computer company Triad has essentially admitted that it engaged in a course of behavior during the recount in numerous counties to provide "cheat sheets" to those counting the ballots. The cheat sheets informed election officials how many votes they should find for each candidate, and how many over and under votes they should calculate to match the machine count. In that way, they could avoid doing a full county-wide hand recount mandated by state law.